S/V Halley

  24 10.394n 76 27.143w We ran into a sister boat last week, another Antares 44 by the name of True North. Before we had a chance to do the same, the owners Jason and Ashley dinghied over to us to say hello. We invited them onboard for a chat and then landed a dinner invitation at their boat. Great meal and fun to see the same boat in a different incarnation. It also got us fired up about switching to lithium batteries and getting more solar installed sooner rather than later, not to mention getting the darn water maker and the generator fixed. We now have a plan to stop in to Just Catamarans in Florida for a make-over on our way north for the summer. Another inspiration from True North was backtracking 20 nm to visit Prime Cay . We’d already spent time in that general area but missed the cay since the entry is very shallow and the cay is not mentioned in our cruising guide. We weighed anchor early the next morning and headed south. How nice to be free to just pull up and go where...

Cold, wet commute home from work in February, 2020: where will we be 2 years from now?

24 04.714n 76 23.173w Generator trouble. Good times.

24 04.714n 76 23.173w One good anchor (Rocna) with lots of heavy duty chain out. The anchor alarm on the chart plotter is worth its weight in gold, that's for sure. We can see how we drift around the anchor in a nice and tight pattern even after the wind shift. Seeing gusts up towards 40 kt this morning (20 m/s).

24 04.600n 76 23.470w It’s midday and we just dropped anchor in one of the prettiest spots so far. Intensely turquoise water against white sand beaches interspersed by rugged rocks and cliffs.This will serve as our hidey-hole for the next 4-5 days as a strong nor’easter is passing through. The place is called Isaac’s Bay and is located on Great Iguana Cay in the Exumas.   We are one of six boats in this bay; not the only ones who think it will provide good shelter in the coming days. Though good is a relative term;  a narrow, low-lying island chain like the Exumas can only provide so much protection in a blow. There’s low land to the north and a ¼ mile thick strip of beaches and dunes separating us from the Atlantic to the east. We will feel the wind for sure, but we won’t get the waves.   But right now, we most definitely have waves. Before turning north tonight, the wind is brisk from the south and waves are rolling in over the shallow banks.Halley is bobbing up and do...

23 30.404n 75 43.783w Our dear friends, Ina and Stephan Pfuhler, arrived last Thursday and stayed for a long weekend. Great fun to get to share our new life with them. It doesn’t take long to get a little jaded; now we got to see the Bahamas again with fresh eyes; the sunsets, the incredible water, the velvety air, etc. And time to lose the fear of swimming in shark waters. Those crazy Germans of ours hopped right in, be it mid-day or at shark-o-thirty, and swam near and far from the boat. Howling 20 kt winds and strong currents were also no match, just an opportunity for an exercise swim to shore for laps along the beach. It was a good level-set for the shark-traumatized permanent crew of Halley. High winds kept us in the George Town bay area for the weekend, but we had one good day of sailing on the ocean side of the Exumas. We got the screecher, the light wind sail, out for the first time and had a great run with it in sunny, beautiful conditions. Then of course all good things must...

23 45.944n 76 06.119w If this ends up being my regular work week, I’ll take it. For starters, it was a short week since Monday was a holiday. But that aside, an altogether great week of combining work with leisure. We moved the boat on Tuesday morning from Hawk’s Nest Marina, where we had been hiding from the west winds. The destination was New Bight bay, a little further north on Cat Island. I helped Chris get the anchor up and get us going, after that he was at the helm and I was at work enjoying reliable, good Bahamian cell coverage. Definitely a cool feeling to be fully engaged with the office while making 5-6 kt across the Cat Island bay on the far eastern side of the Bahamas. We spent the next few days in New Bight bay. At one of my lunch breaks we added the highest point in the Bahamas to our list of achievements; the Hermitage at Mount Alvernia, at 206 ft/63m. Gotta love the Bahamas, even the mountains are easy to conquer. Then yesterday, Friday, the winds were favorable to mak...

24 08.947n 75 31.457w We caught a southerly wind yesterday and shot across the open waters from the Exuma island chain to one of the eastern-most islands in the Bahamas, Cat Island. It was a 35 nm ride with winds on the beam; stronger than promised with occasional gusts above 30 kt. We reefed both the main and head sail and had a great, feisty trip. Since the winds were predicted to veer from south through west to north and with no protected anchorages for westerly winds on the island, we decided to stay at Hawk’s Nest Marina for a night or two until the prevailing easterly winds return. This marina is the only option on the island and is part of a charming and rustic small resort with its own Indiana Jones style airplane landing strip. People fly in with their own planes to fish in what’s considered one of the best spots in the Bahamas, or come in by boat like us. Here we got to do another one of our kamikaze landings. The entrance to the marina is narrow between reefs and rocks - ...

  23 41.705n 75 59.158w We took advantage of the calmer conditions and moved north today. The forecast advertised light and variable winds. We were hoping to get the screecher out (the bigger light-wind sail), but no such luck. Whatever little wind we had was stubbornly on our nose the entire way - again… we are starting to take it personally. In any case, it meant no sailing, unless willing to zig-zag at a snail’s pace. But it was a nice trip nonetheless - good to be moving again and good to be out on open water.    We dropped anchor in Black Cay where we stopped a few weeks ago with the kids. It’s a beautiful spot. There is nobody around except one other sailboat at a distance. The water is crystal clear and it’s completely quiet now that there is no wind.  I dove on the anchor to make sure it’s well set (cool cruisers do that) and we took Lucy to the beach for a romp and a swim. Chris worked some more on one of his many boat projects - in this case refurbishing t...

  23 28.481n 75 44.042w After the wind shift today we were too close for comfort to a rocky beach so we moved to a new anchorage nearby late in the afternoon. Our new spot has lots more space to swing and more time to deal with a dragging anchor before hitting rocks, should it come to that. Earlier in the day, we found a nice beach to romp around during my morning break. Lucy needed the exercise badly after a full day on the boat yesterday, and so did I. A good leg stretcher is not always easy to find when on anchor, but I have found a way to make a short stretch of beach get the job done; wade along in knee-deep water, forgetting all about the effort since the scenery is so gorgeous - today, stormy skies above turquoise waters.

23 28.894n 75 44.138w A cold front has swept in over the Exumas. Down here, that means high winds and slightly cooler temps. We've seen 20-29 kt today ("kuling" in Swedish), but still had lovely temps around 74F/23C. So this morning we moved Halley to Redshanks, an anchorage a few miles south of Stocking Island. It's a nicely protected spot surrounded by low lying cays on all sides. This means that the fetch, the distance waves have a chance to build up, is short. But in the negative column, the anchorage is shallow and surrounded by rocky shores, so care must be taken.   And we did nose around the anchorage for a while to find a spot that would work. In fact, we stirred up mud and sand a few times as we got into very shallow territory, this while maneuvering in gusty conditions and close quarters; yes, tense.  We were looking for a perfect circle since when on anchor, the boat will swing with the wind (boats naturally keep their bows to the wind, unless the current ...

23 31.625n 75 46.042w Sailing Stocking Island to Emerald Bay and back today.  

23 30.614n 75 44.493w I don’t think it will ever get old. While doing yoga on the foredeck I heard the distinct sound of dolphins coming up for air very close to me. I peeked over the railing and - sure enough - a pod of dolphins with babies were playing around Halley. They were so close that I actually got sprayed by one dolphin as it was exhaling to get a fresh breath. The pod stuck around for a good while, then disappeared. I got back on the mat and resumed my yoga - and breathing - and before long, I heard them back again, coming up for air. Back to the railing to cheer them on while they were playing, then they were off again and I got back to the mat and my breathing. This continued in multiple iterations. I think the dolphins were purposely and playfully teasing me. Yes, the yoga was severely interrupted, but I will take that any day for however long they care to stick around.